"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Thursday proposed major changes to New York City’s building code, saying Hurricane Sandy showed that both commercial and residential properties needed additional safeguards against severe weather."

"Mr. Bloomberg unveiled the work of a task force whose recommendations, once put in place, would make the city a leader in the national effort to overhaul codes so that buildings would be more resilient to natural disasters. He and the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, set up the task force after the October hurricane, which did billions of dollars in damage to property in the city.

'Sandy clearly underscored why we need to protect our buildings,' Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference in Long Island City, Queens, in the lobby of a 520-unit residential cooperative that had flooding from the East River during the hurricane. 'We learned a lot, and we want to make sure we won’t forget those lessons.'"